Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh Cabinet on Wednesday took a slew of decisions aimed at strengthening governance and accelerating growth.
In a significant boost to irrigation management, the cabinet accorded revised administrative approval of Rs.344.39 crore for operation and maintenance works relating to 7,189 major, medium and minor irrigation projects during 2025–26.
While the number of works was marginally increased from 7,174 to 7,189 based on priority, the total financial outlay remains unchanged.
The cabinet meeting, presided over by chief minister Chandrababu Naidu, cleared the draft Andhra Pradesh Assigned Lands (Prohibition of Transfers) (Amendment) Bill, 2026, replacing Ordinance-10 of 2025 and bringing clarity to provisions governing the transfer of assigned lands.
Deadlines were extended until June 30, 2026, for the regularisation of encroachments up to 1,000 sq yards in Gajuwaka revenue village of Visakhapatnam district and for applications under the statewide house regularisation scheme–2025.
In a notable administrative decision, 3.84 acres in Keesarapalli village of Gannavaram mandal, Krishna district, earlier allotted to Customs (Preventive), will now be utilised for establishing a new customs and audit commissionerate complex, including residential quarters. The department had already paid `87.09 lakh as market value.
Promoting clean energy, the cabinet allotted 45.60 acres in Thotapalli village, Eluru district, to NREDCAP for a compressed bio-gas plant at a value of `7.73 crore. It also approved leasing 1,500 acres in Nandhala district for a 250mw solar project for 30 years at `31,000 per acre annually, with a biennial 5 per cent escalation.
Renewable energy project timelines for Suzlon and Axis Energy were extended by two years to make them align with transmission connectivity works.
In the IT sector, the government cleared the establishment of ‘AP AI Living Labs’ through a not-for-profit Section 8 company headquartered in Amaravati. Amendments to the MoU with NVIDIA will enable the procurement of AI hardware for students and free AI teaching kits for educators, reflecting the government’s goal of providing AI training to at least one member in every family.
To strengthen digital resilience, a Disaster Recovery (DR) Centre for the state data centre will be set up at the IIDT campus in Tirupati under the BOOT model, funded through the SASCI scheme. The facility would ensure uninterrupted e-governance services and improved cybersecurity.
Under PMAY–Gramin 2.0, the cabinet fixed the unit cost at Rs.2.39 lakh per house, including convergence and SHG loans, with the state bearing interest subsidy between 2026–27 and 2028–29. The scheme entails an estimated expenditure of Rs.4,279.33 crore and this aligns with the government’s Housing for All by 2029 vision.
The cabinet also approved refinancing of the Ramayapatnam Port loans through Sagarmala finance corporation, reducing interest rates to 8.60 per cent and generating estimated savings of Rs.523 crore over the loan tenure.
Further approvals included amendments to Panchayat Raj, village/ward secretariats and fire services laws, establishment of “Amaravati Marina” under PPP mode, sanction of special remission to a life convict as per high court directions, and ratification of urgent irrigation and AI-related government orders.
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